


This is My Anchor

by Nyama



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-20 09:55:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30003120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nyama/pseuds/Nyama
Summary: Lin freezes up at work, and makes a choice about her future.
Relationships: Lin Beifong/Kya II
Comments: 10
Kudos: 58





	1. Getting Home

Kya wasn’t surprised that Lin wasn’t home.

She let herself be irritated at the extra work she’d done at the hospital so she wouldn’t get home “on time” (because Lin sure wouldn’t). She thought about the detour she’d taken to get takeout from that one stall that was just a little bit further away so she could be “running a little late” (because Lin sure would be). She took a deep breath, like she had while walking along the docks, looking over the ocean before she turned back to their apartment of stone (just like Lin).

And then she shrugged off her coat and shoes. She turned on the radio, and started humming along. She carted the food into the kitchen, and set the bag on the counter to grab dishes. She spotted something next to the tea.

She was surprised to find the note. 

_Kya,_

_I am not here, but I haven’t left you. Ask Mako about the case we were called to this morning out in Tiger Ward. He can’t tell you everything, but it should be enough.  
I have to go away from the City for a while. I’m sorry I couldn’t stop to tell you in person, but if I saw you, I wouldn’t be able to go.  
I kept my promise from after the last time.  
I love you.  
Lin_

Kya read the note over and over again. She couldn’t remember what promise. She couldn’t remember Mako’s number. She couldn’t think past _I have to go away_.

Lin never _went away_. Never in her fifty years had she been away from the city more than a couple of weeks at a time. Lin had pushed Kya away, but had never been the one _to go away_. 

The phone rang. 

Kya blinked, realizing that the sky had fallen to black and the takeout was cold on the counter.

She lurched up from where she had melted to the floor, only to have it stop ringing just before she reached it. She started to shake. What if it had been Lin?

She thought about whether to call Tenzin or Mako, but couldn’t remember their numbers. 

The phone rang again, and she nearly knocked it to the floor trying to answer it.

“LIN! Is that you?”

“Kya? No, it’s Mako. I was looking for Chief, though. Could you let me talk to her?”

Kya gasped. Even he didn’t know she was gone. Had she been captured? Was she in trouble?

She dropped the receiver, and it hit the floor. She ran into the bedroom, but nothing was out of place. When she saw the uniform was in its armoire, she started to sweat. She opened the closet, and found Lin’s duffle bag missing. The closet was missing a few items, but nothing special. 

Her mind was running like a pair of pigeon squirrels chasing each other, all fur and feathers, and never stopping. 

_Where is she?!_

She remembered the phone, and grabbed it back up.

“Mako, are you still there?”

“This is Song, ma’am. Mako bolted out of here and told me to hold the line until it went dead. He didn’t say anything else. What can I do?”

“Do you know where Lin is?”

“Chief? I haven’t seen her today. They told me she went on some call out early this morning. She went with Mako, but didn’t come back to the office with him. He didn’t say anything was wrong. Do you want me to check the hospital?”

“No, I’ll do that. Thanks, Song.”

She hung up without hearing him sign off. She called the healers’ main office.

“Master Healers’ office. Our offices are currently closed. Is this an emergency?”

“Weilei, this is Kya. I need to know if Lin is at the hospital. Or in it. She isn’t at home.”

“I haven’t seen her, and she hasn’t called since you left. Let me call down to Registration and see if they’ve seen her. You said you’re at home? I’ll call back in 5 minutes.”

“Thank you.”

Kya hung up the phone, properly this time, her hand still shaking and her mind still churning.

_I kept my promise._

What promise? Lin made a million promises. _I’ll be home by dinner. I will take the day off. I won’t get hurt this time._ Kya had stopped counting those promises. The only ones Lin really kept either involved danger to someone not named “Lin Beifong,” or…

_Wedding vows._

_I kept my promise from after the last time._

The last time Lin just disappeared. When the Triple Threats and that other triad actually worked together for ten minutes, and managed to catch Lin right at the end, after she thought they were clear. She had been unconscious for almost a whole day before she woke up. They managed to be stupid enough to take her shoes off and leave her on a stone floor. Even Toph had almost been impressed with how she’d managed to stuff them behind a wall, one by one, until she could get her hands free.

The night she came home, Lin had made a promise. A real one.

_“I can’t always keep myself from being taken. I’m good, but that’s the fifth time I’ve been caught by the bad guys and held for a while. It comes with this job. But now, you’re here, waiting for me, and I know I scared you.”_

_“What scares me more is if they take me, but try to make it look like I left you. Like I got mad and ran away, or even had some secret mission I couldn’t tell you about. If they leave a note saying I’m ok. Because then you might not look for me, and think I don’t need you.”_

_“If I ever have to leave without telling you, but I do it on purpose, I’ll put my betrothal necklace under the stone in the garden. If it’s there, I’m fine, and I had to leave in a hurry. Always know that I will be coming back to collect that necklace because it is the second most precious thing in the world to me.”_

Kya nearly crashed through the door in her haste to get to the garden. She ran to the meditation circle where a green stone stood, surrounded by a shallow pool of water. Fuschite, she had called it, with the pool lined in apatite. _Why can I remember those names but not Tenzin’s phone number?_ She shifted the stone, and saw the small metal box that normally stayed in Lin’s nightstand. She opened it up and nearly wept in relief. Inside the box, Lin’s necklace rested quietly on top of a folded note.

_My love, this is my anchor. Hold on to it tightly for me. I will be back._

Shaking, Kya took the necklace, and tied it around her own neck. She put the box in her pocket, and the stone back in place. She straightened, and started to walk back inside when Mako came bursting through the door.

“Kya! What happened? Where’s Chief?”

Kya gave him a small, brave smile, and waved him into the kitchen. He looked just this side of frantic, and only took a step inside the door.

“Kya? You were so worried. Did she call? Do you know what’s going on?”

“She’s fine, Mako. Take off your shoes and come sit down.”

“How do you know she’s fine?” He pulled his shoes off, and dropped his jacket on the armchair near the door.

“You haven’t eaten.” It was never a question.

She took the food from the counter, and started heating it back up. Now that she was going to feed him instead of Lin, she looked for some leftovers to bulk up his portion a bit. She knew he’d eat anything she put in front of him.

“I ate lunch.” He still had an impressive sulk after all these years. He dropped into the third chair they kept just for him. 

She scoffed. “When was that?”

“Around noon. I think.”

“Let me guess. You didn’t eat breakfast, so you asked a rookie to grab you three steamed buns from the stall across the street, and you couldn’t tell me what they were if your life depended on it.”

Mako’s face fell. “How predictable am I?”

She waved him off, and handed him a plate. He bent over, inhaled the steam, and closed his eyes. “Thanks, Kya.”

“Kid, you need to come over for cooking lessons. I just did some reheating, but you act like we sat down at Kwong’s.”

He laughed. “Right now, Kwong’s wouldn’t be any better than this.”

She smiled and ruffled his hair before sitting down to her own food.

He looked at her. She could tell the instant he registered the necklace. 

“I know Lin is okay because she made me a promise that if she ever had to leave but couldn’t speak to me, she’d leave me a note. She did that. No, I’m not going to show it to you. It’s personal, not police business. I know she left for a reason. I don’t know what it is, yet, but I know she has one. I’m still, well, whatever is worried, but not worried. I know that doesn’t make sense.”

“You’re right. It doesn’t. That’s her betrothal necklace. She left it behind as a token. Am I right?”

Kya nodded, fingering the wooden charm. She half-heartedly ate her own food, fully aware how much of a hypocrite she’d rather be right now. “Why don’t you tell me about that call this morning?”

“I thought you didn’t see her.”

“She mentioned it in her note. Song said there was a call, and that she went with you but didn’t come back. What happened?”

“She had barely been in the office five minutes when the call came. Most of the other officers weren’t even in the building yet, so we agreed to go. It took us probably thirty minutes to get there in traffic, and she spent most of it trying to get something more than the address out of a civilian who was hiding in the patrol’s satomobile. There was a lot of shouting and noise, but no real information.

“We pulled up to the address, and saw three officers dealing with an earthbender. It was pretty rough because she was just wild. Flinging rocks everywhere, no one could predict what she was doing enough to get her contained. One of the non-bending officers took a rock to the back of his head and dropped. That’s when Lin saw the two girls in the door of the apartment building. The older one was huddled over the younger one, and they were both crying. They were so scared. The mom was screaming at the officers to get away from her, and screaming at the kids not to move or she’d punish them. That’s when Lin froze - just for a second.”

He took a deep breath, clearly replaying events in his mind.

“Then she raised up a cage around the mom, and sent her cables hovering just outside it. The mom dissolved the cage, and Lin wrapped her up in the cables. I’ve never seen her so angry. I was scared she was going to crush the woman. The rocks fell like rain, and we all had to duck for cover.

“Lin let me get the cuffs on the mom - those new platinum ones she made for benders that keep their hands flat - and then pulled her cables back. She told me to clean up, and she ran off without another word.”

He paused, and took another breath.

“I was so focused on the on-site officers and the girls and the mom, I just took over and started giving orders. I’ve been dealing with it all day long, and I didn’t realize until you called that she just vanished. Now that I’m telling you, I think I know why.”

“What do you think?”

“I think she saw a mom even worse than her own mom. I think she hated Toph plenty, but I don’t think she was ever… scared of her like those kids were today. And Toph is Toph, but this mom… she’s not... ”

He faltered, not knowing how to describe what he saw.

“Healthy?” Kya asked.

“Yeah, maybe that’s it. Her eyes weren’t focused real well, she was screaming and not really watching what she was doing. Some of her rocks got really close to those girls, but she yelled at them not to move. And they were so young, they thought they couldn’t. They were crying for another hour after we took their mom away.” His eyes were pointed at his hands, but his mind was focused on what he’d seen.

“What happened to the girls?”

“The uniforms took the mom to the station. Sergeant Yang had to take the girls there, too to see the social worker. Later, she took the girls over to the orphanage on White Cliff Lane. It was the closest one to where we found them. Do you know that one? It’s called Open Hands or something.”

“I’m not familiar with all of the orphanages in the city. There are so many now.”

“Yeah. And their mom isn’t even dead, but we couldn’t get any next of kin information out of her. She hardly said a word after we put her in cuffs and got her to the station. She’s in bad shape, but she wouldn’t talk to anyone.”

She reached out for his hand, and they sat in silence.

The phone rang again, and Kya walked over, trying to control her movements carefully.

“Hello?”

“Kya, love, it’s Izumi. Lin asked me to call you. She isn’t injured, though she is hurting. I don’t know much about it, but that’s what she asked me to tell you.” Kya’s other hand played with the phone cord. Mako kept quiet and tried to listen and not listen at the same time.

“Will you see her, or speak to her before I will?”

“Yes, but only briefly. Do you have a message for her?”

“Tell her I know she kept her promise. Tell her I will wait for her. Tell her I love her.”

“Of course. I’m sorry I can’t do anything more to help. I know this is difficult.”

“Are you helping her?”

“A little, but she didn’t tell me much, either.”

“Thank you for calling. Thank you for helping her.”

“I’m glad you are together. I’ll be sure she comes back to you.”

“Thanks, Izumi.”

“Goodbye, Kya. Call if you want to talk.”

Mako watched her hang up the phone so slowly, like she couldn’t bear to break the tenuous connection. He waited for her to come back to the kitchen, but then jumped up when he saw her shoulders curve in as she started weeping.

He came up beside her, and folded her into his chest. He felt a foggy memory tickle his mind. Once, his father held an orange and dared Mako to make him crush it by squeezing his hand. Mako tried and tried, but his father’s hand never bruised the fruit. He looked at his dad, who said,

“Mako, you want to protect, not hurt. You are strong for the one you are protecting so they know they can trust you, but don’t take your strength out on them. When it’s a person and not an orange, they need to know they can leave if they need to.”

Minutes? hours? later, Kya took a few shaky breaths. Then a steady one. And another. He loosened his arms slightly, and tried to get a look at her face.

“Let me make some tea. I think maybe alcohol isn’t the best thing right now.”

“Thanks, Mako. I should be taking care of you.”

“Not this time. Go sit down and I’ll bring it over.”

Kya walked back to the bathroom instead, and then to the bedroom. She came back out with one of Lin’s white tank tops before curling up on the couch. She pulled up a pillow and draped the tank over it, and pooled a blanket around her legs. Mako walked in with her tea in Lin’s favorite mug. Kya grinned at the green mug that read “I’m with stupid.”

“How did you know?”

“I am a detective, you know.”

Kya laughed. “You weren’t even there. How did you know she said that?”

“Have you heard how many times Korra has told that story to Meelo?”

Kya smiled just long enough to remember she still hadn’t told Tenzin.

“Don’t worry. I’ll call him after I make sure you’re asleep.”

“How old am I, Detective-son?”

“Tired, not old. Detective-son? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You don’t fool me, Mako. I know Lin is your mom. And I’m her wife, which makes you my son, too.”

Mako chuffed quietly, and just stood there.

“I had never quite thought of it that way before.”

“Yes, you have. You remember when she rode in the ambulance with you about a year ago?”

“Nope.”

“You called her mom. She told me about it that night. I had never seen that version of happy on her face before. She started calling you Detectiveson around here after that.”

He blinked, and turned around to go back to the kitchen. Kya heard him move a few things, but then he got quiet for a couple of minutes. She swore she heard him give out one small sob before cleaning noises started.

Mako collected her mug, then kept his word to her to make sure she was asleep, even if it was in the guest bed instead of their bed. He saw himself out.

In the morning, she realized that he had a key. As a son should.


	2. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kya knows that Lin is ok, but that doesn't make waiting any easier.

The first letter arrived the next day.

_Kya,_

_This is short because the ship is leaving in a few minutes. I don’t feel right about leaving you so abruptly, but I will try to explain myself to you. And I will be home as soon as I can be. You have always returned to me. You are my anchor. I will be back._

_Lin_

She heard nothing else for three days. Three of the longest, darkest days of her life.

Tenzin tried to get her to come to the island, but she couldn’t bring herself to leave the apartment in case Lin called. Mako brought takeout on the first day. Korra and Asami blew in like a whirlwind on the second day, making enough food to feed the entire family - including a few acolytes, truth be told.

After they left, it was all Kya could do to sit out on the balcony and not weep for the life that could have been. If she had stayed all those years ago, could she and Lin have had their love be young and wild and noisy and exciting? With more plans for the future, but fewer memories of pain and separation?

She thought about the day she stayed with Tenzin when Jinora was only about four years old. Jinora had tried so hard to bring Aunt Kya her cup of tea, but lost her balance just enough to spill the tea on the floor. She looked up with wide eyes, and said, “Aunt Kya, you can just bend it back into the cup and then you can drink it! You’re a waterbender!”

Kya smiled, and had Jinora bring the cup over closer. “Ok, let’s see what happens.”

She waved her arms dramatically for Jinora’s amusement, and pulled the tea up from the floor into the cup.

“Jinora, take a look at the tea and tell me what you see.”

“Where’s the rest of it? There was more when I spilled it.”

“Some soaked into the floorboards. I would have to damage the floor to call that tea back. Do you think I should?”

“No! The acolytes worked so hard to fix the floor last week.”

“That’s right. Some of the tea is beyond our reach. Now tell me what you see about the tea that is in the cup.”

“It’s dark. It looks wrong.”

“It just picked up some dirt and some of the wax from the floor. Does it look good to drink?”

“No, it looks yucky.”

“That’s right. When tea spills, even a master waterbender like me can’t just put it back in the cup and drink it.”

Jinora started to look worried. “Are you mad? I’m sorry I spilled your tea.”

“I’m not mad, sweetie. It’s just important to know that things change. You can’t drink spilled tea.”

“But I could get some new tea, right?”

“Yes, I believe you could.”

“Will you wait for me?”

“I will wait for you.”

Kya looked up at the moon, high and bright in the sky.

_Thank you, Yue, for talking to me. Say hi to Uncle Sokka for me._


	3. The Second Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kya hears from Lin.

_Dearest,_

_I’m writing this while on the ship to make the trip go faster. I need to explain myself._

_By now, you should know about the call. An earthbender mom, out of control. Two scared little girls who couldn’t get away from her. And the damage. Kya, she had been tearing up the alleyway for over an hour by the time we got there. She was throwing rocks everywhere. The patrol was a non-bender and a waterbender. Another non-bending officer lives a block or two over, and had arrived just before we got there. They had their hands full trying to keep those rocks from hurting anyone. I saw the melted and shattered ice where our waterbender had tried to shield the kids. But the mom clearly had pummeled the ice to pieces._

_I froze, Kya. When I saw those two girls, it was like I saw what could have been me and Suyin. Except Toph would never have scared us like that. She made us mad. She hurt us. But she never scared us. Even on my worst days, I never thought to be scared of her the way those girls were scared of their mother._

_The mom was holding up a torrent of rocks, spinning like she was an earth-only Avatar. I remember being just a little scared of your dad during one last, big fight not long before he died. She reminded me of him, just a little._

_But that’s not what scared me. ___

____

_I looked at those girls, and I had so many thoughts in my head at the same time it was like fireworks going off. I imagined charging at the mom, through her rock storm. I imagined diving over to the kids and trying to cover them up from the flying rocks. I imagined pulling my officers out of the area. I imagined knocking Mako down to keep him from getting hit. ___

_____ _

_I imagined rocks - my rocks, from my city, thrown by one of my people at more of my people - rocks slamming into me faster than I could control._

_____ _

_I imagined you._

_____ _

_I imagined you being annoyed that I hadn’t gone to a staff healer. I imagined you trying so hard not to be angry at me for making you spend our evening patching me up. I imagined you getting a call to meet me at the hospital. I imagined you..._

_____ _

_I imagined Mako having to take you to the morgue._

_____ _

_I imagined you trying to live without me._

_____ _

_Kya, I froze up._

_____ _

_I couldn’t do that to you._

_____ _

_We spent so much of our lives apart. I know you love me. I know how you have changed to be with me._

_____ _

_It’s time that I change to be with you._

_____ _

_Izumi knows someone who works with her military. She offered before, and I turned her down flat. I know you’re not surprised. But I called her, and she said he would be waiting for me._

_____ _

______ _ _

_I have always thrown myself in front of those rocks. I always felt like everyone had something to live for, except me._

______ _ _

_But I do._

______ _ _

_I have you._

______ _ _

_You are my anchor._

______ _ _

_Your dad told me once that it was easy to die for something. That it could be harder to live for something._

______ _ _

_I want to live, for you. And for me. For us._

______ _ _

_I need help. I need to change. And spend time getting my mind settled. I never had a problem working my body with strength and determination. It’s past time for me to work on my mind._

______ _ _

_So I’m doing the last thing I ever imagined doing. I’m leaving you behind, for a while._

______ _ _

_But just like you came back to me, I swear I will come back to you._

______ _ _

_Love,  
Lin_

______ _ _


	4. The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lin and Kya talk for the first time in a week.

The phone rang.

Kya woke with a start, and fell off the couch, completely tied up in blankets and pillows. The phone rang again. She ran up against the coffee table and tipped over her glass of water. The phone rang again, and a fourth time - _that I know I heard_ \- and a fifth time and sixth time before she could crawl over to pick it up.

“Hello?”

“Kya.” A conversation. A reunion. Communion in just one word.

“Oh, Lin, it’s you, thank the spirits! I miss you!”

“Kya, it’s so good to hear your voice. I’m sor…”

“Lin, don’t. Don’t you ever apologize for this. Do not - not now, not later, not to me, not to yourself, not to Izumi, not to Mako, not to Izumi’s person - ever apologize for getting help. You have helped thousands. You’ve helped the Avatar. You’ve helped me. It’s your fucking turn.”

She could hear Lin breathing harshly on the other end of the line.

“Did I misunderstand you? Lin, I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I’ll shut up.” She slapped her hand over her mouth. 

She could hear Lin take a deep breath. Once, twice. 

“Kya, I am not sorry for doing this. Not exactly." She sighed. "We’ll talk when I get home. I’m just sorry I haven’t called before now.”

Kya realized how badly she had tangled her fingers in the phone cord, and started fumbling with it just as Lin stopped talking. The receiver fell out of her hand, and she scrambled to pick it back up ( _shit shit shit don’t break it shit_ ), only to hear Lin laughing on the other end.

“Lin? Are you laughing at me?”

“You got your fingers tied up in the phone cord, didn’t you? You were listening and then you realized and then you dropped it, right?”

Kya blushed furiously at being so transparent. She sighed. 

“Yes. That’s what happened.”

In her mind’s eye, she could see Lin’s face, lit by that small smile no one else in the world got to see. 

“Did you get my longer letter?”

“I did. Thank you for telling me what happened to you. And thank you for what you said. I know it’s too early to look ahead, so I want you to know that I will stay right here until you come home. Though now that you have called, I might go to the island tonight.”

“You have been in the apartment this whole time?”

“Of course. I missed a call just after I found your note in the kitchen. I was afraid it was you.”

“It wasn’t me, love. This is the first time I have had the courage to let myself hear your voice.”

Kya leaned back against the wall and crumpled to the floor. Her eyes were swimming, and she had to fight to keep a tremor out of her voice. 

“Lin, I am grateful for both that letter and this call. Is Izumi taking care of you for me?”

“I haven’t seen her. I couldn’t bear to see her, either. I just called her before I left, but it was all I could do to get through that call without hanging up.”

She was quiet, but her breathing was shaky and harsh. 

“One of her generals met me, and brought me to an estate a little south of the palace. I’m not even entirely sure where I am, actually. When he dropped me off, Zhao (yes, he's related) talked to me about working with Doctor Yan over the years. He told me about a moment he had. He didn’t ask any questions, just tried to reassure me that Yan was worth talking to.”

“I’m glad. Did Izumi get you my message?”

“Yes. Are you wearing it?”

Kya gripped the polished wood tightly. “Of course I am. You asked me to.”

“I love you, Kya. It will be a little while before I get home. I want to be home with you, but I know I can’t rush this. Izumi’s general might like Yan, but I don’t know him. Yet.”

“And you don’t trust him.”

“Well, I distrust him less than when I got here, if that helps.”

“It does. Lin, I need you to do something for me.” She took a deep breath.

“You should stay with Izumi and talk to her. You can’t be that close and not stay over. You have to thank her for me. When you’re ready to come home, I want to meet you at the dock, or the island, or wherever you come to. I don’t want your arrival to be a surprise, please.”

“I promise.”

“Take your time. I can go to work, and now that I have heard your voice, I - “

She broke off to keep herself from sobbing. 

“Kya, please get some sleep, and in bed this time. I will come home just as soon as I can. I need some more time, but I’m not as broken as Korra was. You would be proud of me. I only spoke to Saikhan once, just after I called Izumi. And that was just long enough to tell him I wanted my city back in the same shape I left it.”

Kya laughed. “You’re one to talk, Ms I’m-gonna-kill-this-mecha-tank-with-a-building.”

“That’s right. I’m the only one allowed to do that. Well, along with Su and Bolin, I guess. Think he would like it if I got him one of those ‘future deputy’ badges we give to the kids?”

Kya snorted. “Only if you plan on hiring him. He might just faint.”

They laughed, listening to their own private music. 

“I love you, Lin. And I am very proud of you.”

“Good night, Kya. I will be home soon.”

Kya sat against the wall with the phone against her ear until it went silent.


	5. The Third Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lin looks ahead to the future.

_Kya,_

_Hearing your voice last night felt as good as your hands do when I’ve hurt myself. The energy, the warmth. I can’t imagine what well you draw from, but you always have energy to share with me._

_I know I shouldn’t idealize you, make you into some paragon of virtue. You deserve the chance to be angry and tired and silly and done with my mess. You should be able to talk to my sister without me glowering or hiding. You should be able to complain about your mom or your brothers without worrying about my opinions._

_So I’m going to try to be better. To think about those things, and to be more fair in what I expect from you._

_I am going to make you some promises, and the only thing I ask is that you don’t make yourself responsible for me keeping them. And I do have to say that I know that I cannot control everything. With the lives we lead and the people we know, I may have to break a promise. But I will do everything I can not to let that happen, and to make it up to you when it does._

_I promise to come home as healed as I can be, even if I have to go to the hospital before coming home - and then I will call, or make someone call for me. If we’re out together saving Korra’s butt, that’s different. But I’m going to cut back on bringing my work home - and that includes injuries._

_I promise to come home at noon and cook a meal for you and people you invite at least once a month. Like that book club I’ve been avoiding. I’m not good at cooking for a big crowd, but I can cook for six to ten or so. I do not promise to join said book club._

_I promise to follow Doctor Yan’s recommendations, which include (so far):  
_

_
  * Doing stretching and meditation at home with you, but exercise at work. Except family bending and sparing practice, but that has to be on the island. And it will not be right after we fought about the dishes or the laundry or whatever stupid thing I did.  

  * Continuing to train Korra in her metalbending.  

  * Starting to see Doctor Fanzhu on a weekly basis when I get home. She trained with Yan, and worked with the United Forces for a few years before moving to RC. Yan told me I have to deal with her being young enough to be my kid, though thankfully she is older than Korra.  

_
  * _Going to see Su within six months. Whether you decide to come is up to you, even if you let me go ahead and then come later. You don’t need to be my emotional crutch for me to do what I could have done at 25._



_There are three more promises I am making to myself that have to do with you, but I will tell you about them in person._

_I talk to Yan twice a day for two or three hours. I still can’t quite believe it, even when I’m doing it now. He even has gotten me to meditate each day. Of course, the weather has been remarkably good, so that has helped. I was sitting against a tree in his garden and I could have sworn I felt mom for a moment. I know she watches us through those vines, but I’ve never felt like I could look back. But with my back against that tree, I almost believed._

_Kya, as I write, I am planning to be here another week or so. I will call the night before I leave so that you can make your plans. I hope you’ve been able to go to work some._

_One more promise: when you get me home, I’m disconnecting the phone for three days. I have letters ready for Mako and Tenzin telling them to leave us the fuck alone. I would send one to Bumi, but I expect him just to show up, no matter what we say. I thought about taking you to a hotel for a few days, but I really want to be at home, and I think you’ll be okay with that. If you do want to go somewhere, we can go anywhere you want. Just say the word._

_Kya, I never expected how much I would miss that necklace you gave me. I have always loved it, and even though I have never worn it as much as you’d like, I can always feel it. I can picture the wood grain, and feel the silk. I remember loving the sound of your voice while you told me about designing it with our mothers’ help. The time you spent carving your name on the inside, where no one else can see it. The way you described asking the tree where mom lives for permission to take a piece of its trunk. How your lie about that conference was just a cover for getting that swamp bender’s help in binding a spirit vine into your carving. I treasure it because it shows me just how much you treasure me._

_I’m working my way back to you so I can be more of the person you believe me to be._

_Thank you. For everything._

_Lin_


	6. Home at Last

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After nearly a month away, Lin returns home to Kya.

Kya was nearly dancing with excitement as she parked the satomobile. “Out. We’ll get your luggage later.”

Lin smiled and stepped out of the car laughing. “Kya, I feel better just walking up to this place with you.” She opened the resident’s entrance, and held it open for her wife. Kya pulled Lin’s hand, and started running up the stairs. Lin reached up to tickle Kya’s behind, which nearly knocked her over before she started running faster. Giggling, they emerged on their floor and ran down the hall to their apartment. The old biddy next door poked her head outside her own door and started fussing at them, but they ignored her. They fell inside their home and slammed the door behind them.

Their neighbor closed her own door and shuffled back into her apartment. She settled back into the armchair she had moved to that one spot where she could hear far more than she’d ever admit. Once things got quiet again, she called to the noodle shop around the corner, and placed a delivery order. She told them to add a note that said “Welcome home.”

_Later that night_

The moon shone over the sleeping women, stirring the waterbender. Her stretches were just enough to rouse her wife, but not enough for either of them to be willing to get up.

“Lin. I can’t tell you what it means to have you home. You look as happy as that day your mother called you a metalbending master for the first time.”

Lin stretched against Kya’s body, and snuggled as closely as she could.

“I know it’s just for a few days, but I meant what I said about the phone. I don’t want to see any more people but you for now. I still have a lot to think about, and more I need to tell you. And I’m sure I have a lot of listening to do.”

Kya ran her hand up and down Lin’s arm, glad she was faced away from the window so Lin couldn’t see the tears in her eyes. 

Lin raised up on an elbow to get a better look at Kya. “I hated leaving you. I hated being away from you. But I promised myself that it was all to make the rest of our lives better. A sacrifice, but not the risky kind. I’m tired of living the way I was. Kya, I’m going to start the process to retire.”

Kya blinked, and narrowed her eyes, searching Lin’s face. “You mean that. That’s a real promise.”

Lin nodded. “That’s the first one I didn’t put in my letter. I gave the City half of my life, and more. When I gave the rest of my life to you, you at least promised to give me something back.”

She reached over to kiss Kya, and then suddenly, they weren’t very sleepy. 

_The next morning_

The sun was more demanding when it peeked through the open curtains. This time, it was Lin who stood up and stretched, feeling better than she had in a month. She closed the curtains tightly, to let Kya keep sleeping.

She had been gone for only a couple of weeks, but it felt like a clean break. While cleaning up, she reviewed her new morning routine. She went out on the balcony, and stretched under the warmth of the sun, and even settled down to meditate for a little while. When Kya stepped out in her robe, Lin shifted over slightly to make room. Kya sat down, and rested her head on Lin’s shoulder. They sat in silent companionship as the sun steadily rose in the sky.

Kya’s stomach rumbled, and they both chuckled.

“I guess those noodles from last night are long gone. I wonder where they came from,” Kya mused. 

“I bet Old Lady Chin next door sent them. She did something like that years ago, after the Kuvira fight, I think. I wouldn’t have known except I had ordered from the same place at the same time.”

Kya laughed. “Maybe she wasn’t as mad as she tried to make us think.”

Lin kissed her, and sent her off to shower and get dressed. Soon enough, breakfast and tea were ready, and Lin had collected her bag from the satomobile.

Kya came out of the bedroom, wearing comfy clothes with her hair up in a towel. They ate, and Kya caught Lin up on the minor doings of Korra and the other kids. They opened the door to the balcony before settling in on the couch to read for a while. Lin spent the laziest, most relaxed day she could remember.

After dinner, Lin went back to the bedroom, and emerged with a scroll. “Kya, I’m going to hang this in one particular spot in our bedroom, unless you object. That way, I will be able to see it every time I’m in there.” She handed it to her wife before settling at the far end of the couch, facing her.

Kya untied the scroll and started reading. She recognized parts of what she was reading, but then got to what she thought was just a dream. “These are the promises you made in your letter.”

Lin nodded. “Including one of the ones I said I would only tell you in person. The one I told you last night. I’m going to retire within a year or so. I don’t have a firm date in mind, but I’m tired and I have other things I want to do.”

“Like me?” Kya grinned wickedly. 

“Promise number two. Hold that thought.” Lin smirked, and sashayed out of the room. _How the hell can she do **that** to me in those damned sweatpants?_ Kya realized she was already starting to breathe a little faster, and decided a glass of water _right the fuck now_ was imperative. 

She had just made it back to her spot on the couch when Lin came back out of their bedroom. 

Kya’s eyebrows jerked up, watching her wife slink around the corner in her long, black trench coat. And red heels? _How did I not know she had those?_ The shrinking part of her functioning brain noticed that the spikes at the shoulder didn’t look as, well, spiky. But then, Lin motioned at the record player. Kya knew she was in trouble when she recognized the voice as… Lin’s?! _Later later later look at her pay attention… oh oh oh_

Suffice it to say, Old Lady Chin was not sorry to be home that night.


	7. From Now On

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lin and Kya emerge from their cocoon.

Three days was enough, for now. They were the down payment on the only promise Kya wanted: Lin’s love. 

They both still had to go to work. Bumi had actually stayed away, so they needed to see the family. They had cocooned themselves for a while, and were ready to return to the world. 

The first day, they brought Old Lady Chin a bouquet, a box of sweets, and a bottle. She invited them in, and the sweets and tea gave way to noodles and whiskey. 

The next day, Lin took Kya to her office at the hospital, helping her carry boxes of pastries, starting with the housekeepers and bookkeepers and childkeepers. 

The third day, Lin finally returned to the station. This time, Kya was wrestling with the boxes of goodies. When the elevator opened up, they heard, “CHIEF’S BACK!” A roar went up, and she was nearly stormed by her own people. One ear-splitting whistle later, it was just quiet enough for Saikhan’s voice to be heard. “If you love her, **get to work!** ” 

He glowered at a few who couldn’t take a hint, then followed Lin and Kya into the Chief’s office. Kya was lounging in her usual spot on the couch. Lin stood at parade rest with her back to the door, looking out over the City. 

“It’s good to see you, Lin.” He blinked, and noticed. “You altered your uniform.”

“I told you he’d see.” When Lin turned around, Saikhan raised his own eyebrow. He searched her face. 

“How soon are you thinking, Lin? I never thought I would see your necklace in the office.”

“I will be wearing this from now on. I never should have left it at home. I will retire in no more than a year. Preferably the next six months.”

Kya choked on her coffee. “You didn’t say it would be so soon.” She set her mug down, and bent the spill out of her dress. 

“I want to get past the precinct elections, and out before the New Year. The New Year would make a clean break, no matter who follows me.” She sighed. “I will have to work with the President about a specific date, but it is time. Saikhan, you and your wife need to decide if you want the job.”

She stopped talking, and turned back to the window. “Kya, could you give us a moment, please?”

Without a word, Kya slipped out past Saikhan, giving him a squeeze on the shoulder as she passed. When she had closed the door behind her, Lin took a deep breath and turned back to face her colleague. 

“You have been my friend longer than anyone not part of that wild family of mine. I have not done right by you more times than I can remember, yet you have stayed unflinchingly loyal to me. I have not always deserved your devotion, but please know that I always have treasured it.”

She sighed again. “This is a terrible job. Kya has suffered greatly, and not only because I’m such an idiot sometimes. You and Qiyang figured things out much younger than we did. I know that time when you filled in for me after Amon was rough for you, and I can imagine you not wanting to do that again.”

“If you do want the job, know now that I will be away from the city for a bare minimum of six months after I retire. I will not be here to look over your shoulder, or give the press corps someone to get an opinion from. I have thought about moving away entirely, but haven’t discussed that with Kya yet. It may be just like the rest of the story of us - we have been ready for different things at different times. ”

“I appreciate that, Lin. Qiyang and I have talked about it some, and I don’t know that I want it on a permanent basis. I’ll be happy to serve as interim, but I’m not that much younger than you are. I can do pretty well as Assistant Chief for a new person, then retire and give Mako a place to work on his way into this office.”

Lin smiled. “You will always be welcome in my home, wherever that winds up being.”

She reached out her hand. He shook it warmly. “Are you staying today?”

“Oh, I’m here. I’m going to spend an hour working with Ming on what has backed up, then I want your briefing. Tell the captains I will speak with them after lunch.”

“Yes, Chief. It’s good to have you back.”

“Thank you. For everything.”

They walked out of her office, and Lin came up beside Kya, perched on the edge of Mako’s desk. She gave Kya a quick peck on the cheek, and offered to walk her out. As Kya stepped into their satomobile, she turned back to Lin.

“He’s not the only one who never thought they’d see your necklace visible at the station.”

Lin looked at her. She reached out and took one of Kya’s hands, and lifted it up to her throat where the necklace rested. Together, they curled their fingers around it.

“You made such efforts to make an unbendable necklace for me, and I wasted so much time when I could have been wearing it. As I told you in my letter, I can feel it even when I am not wearing it. This is my anchor. I will wear it, from now on.”

Kya stepped back out of the car, and kissed her tenderly. “I expect you home for dinner, young lady.” She winked.

“I promise.”


End file.
